


Northern Heart

by BlackDog9314



Series: Rhapsodic 'Verse Time-Stamps [16]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, POV Balthazar, Rhapsodic 'verse, time-stamp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 21:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11677218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackDog9314/pseuds/BlackDog9314
Summary: Castiel is gone, and Balthazar has questions he knows he can't ask him now.





	Northern Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This timestamp is a little self-explanatory and says in the first few sentences when it occurs. Please read the tags, as Castiel's sexual assault is peripherally mentioned/ruminated on by Balthazar. Additionally, this sucked to write. Not sure why, but it packed a sizable punch for me.  
> To read the main work these one shots are written to accompany, click [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2660231/chapters/5945528).

It had been less than a week since Castiel left their apartment.

Balthazar hadn’t _actually_ expected Castiel to leave, but leave he had, and to go and play house with Dean Winchester, of all possible reasons.

It was an odd pairing at first glance, wasn’t it?

Dean Winchester was quiet, brooding, and handsome, even a straight man like Balthazar was aware of that. In the past Dean also used to harbor a bit of a reputation on campus for being a good lay with no strings attached, and the sheer scope and brightness of his paintings had been the stuff of art department legends since he arrived his freshman year. What did someone like _Dean_ see in an obviously OCD, twitchy closet case like Balthazar’s (former) roommate?

Castiel had striking eyes and was kind, it was true…or at least, he _had_ been kind when Balthazar first met him. Now, he was closed-off and terse, his jaw always set like he was in pain. He hadn’t acted himself in the days leading up to the move, and even now, Balthazar _still_ found himself unable to shake from his mind the things Castiel had said when he found him finishing the vodka on his bedroom floor.

_I don’t want to._

_Please don’t hurt me, I can’t do it again._

_Why did you do it?_

What had he been talking about? Was it some old childhood nightmare? Perhaps it had simply been the drink—

“Bal? Bal?”

Beside him on the sofa, Hael's slender face was puckered in an expression of exasperation.

“What? Sorry, sorry,” Balthazar hurriedly apologized, sinking back into the couch cushions and sighing.

“What’s your deal? You’ve been ignoring me since I got here,” Hael said with vexation.

Balthazar figured honesty was the best policy, since it was true he hadn't been a particularly enjoyable host that day.“I was thinking about my roommate.”

“That weird guy who used to screw Meg Masters? Cas...Casteel?”

“Castiel, and I don’t think they screwed,” Balthazar emphatically corrected his friend, unexpectedly rankled at the casual judgment. “They were friends. He’s with Dean Winchester, now, though.”

Hael whistled with a surprised smile. “Really? That’s who he’s dating? Figures.”

“What do you mean?” Balthazar asked with curiosity he couldn’t tamp down.

“Didn’t you hear?” Hael seemed genuinely staggered that Balthazar didn’t know whatever it was she was currently sitting on.

“Obviously not,” Balthazar snapped.

“’Kay, calm down. Anyway, I just heard he got wasted at Heaven and Hell and hooked up with Drew Miller. Well, at least, that’s the way Drew tells it. Skeezer. Seems like the dude has a type if Winchester’s who he went for next, though.”

Balthazar felt the color leave his face at her words.

Dean had practically _carried_ Castiel into the house the night of the party, and Balthazar’s roommate had smelled of vomit and sweat. He’d also looked like shit warmed over, his neck dotted with hickeys and his cheeks ashen.

Was it possible Castiel had just gotten too drunk, the way he said a day or so after the ordeal?

Balthazar found that he didn’t think so.

Castiel’s slurred words echoed in his mind a second time.

_Please don’t hurt me, I can’t do it again._


End file.
